The Maine Black Bears outscored the UMass-Lowell Riverhawks 38-15 in the second half on Wednesday, en route to their third consecutive victory by a score of 58-36 in America East women’s basketball action at the Costello Athletic Center in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Both teams had a four point lead in the opening quarter with UMass-Lowell holding a 10-7 edge after the first 10 minutes. Maine (9-10, 6-3 America East) built a four point lead in the second quarter helped by four points from Anne Simon, before the Riverhawks went on a 9-0 run for their largest lead of the day sparked by a four point play by Kharis Idom and a three-pointer from Shamyjha Price to make it 21-16. The hosts would lead 21-20 at the halftime break. The Black Bears turned up the defense pressure in a decisive third quarter, using a full court press to force 11 UML turnovers. After an opening basket from the Riverhawks Denise Solis, the guests finished the period on a 20-2 run for a 40-25 advantage headed to the fourth. Maine scored 13 points off those 11 Lowell miscues in the period. The lead would go to as many as 25, as the Bears won their third consecutive game (longest of the season). The final tally was a 23-6 advantage on points off turnovers.
Olivia Rockwood had a career high and a game high 13 points in the win. Simon filled up the stat sheet with 12 points, four rebounds, two assists, and seven steals. Simon has 21 steals in her last three games combined. Maeve Caroll also got into double figures with 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Caroline Bornemann added nine points and Paula Gallego had six. Idom led UMass-Lowell in the loss with 11 points, while Price and Solis had eight points a piece. The Riverhawks are now 6-9, 3-3 in the conference. The Black Bears avenge a 60-55 loss to UML back on January 19 in Bangor, and have held their opponents to 37.3 points per game during the three game win streak. Maine starts a two game weekend on the road at Binghamton on Friday at 7 p.m., with the second game slated for 12 p.m. on Sunday.
